Rural Health Innovation Program

Meron Abebe

North Carolina

Abebe is a professional with extensive experience in public health and non-profit management. Having been a member of the WNC Health Network team since 2015, she currently holds the role of Operations Manager and Improvement Specialist. Abebe has a diverse background working in a major metropolitan hospital, a federally qualified community health center, a hospice facility, and a non-profit organization. Abebe earned an MBA and MS in Healthcare Management from Marymount University, as well as a BA in Business Administration from Warren Wilson College. Originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Abebe has called western North Carolina her home for the past two decades.

Emily Adam

Georgia

Adam is an epidemiologist in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her current position, Adam works with national public health data systems, including the National Health Interview Survey and US Cancer Statistics. Adam completed her undergraduate degree in Biology from Grinnell College, an MS in Epidemiology from the University of Iowa, and a 3.5-year ORISE fellowship in applied cancer epidemiology at CDC. Through the Rural Health Innovation Program, Adam looks forward to expanding her spatial data science skills and learning from her peers who are working in rural settings across the country.

Anthony Arton

Lake County, California

Arton started his career as a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician at the age of 18. Arton went on to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Health and Safety and a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration. The first six years of his career he worked in student services for colleges and universities in Texas directing student retention and housing programs. Currently, Arton is the Health Services Director for Lake County, California. Prior to this role, he was the Public Health Director for Coos County, Oregon from 2020–2024 and the Health Administrator for Johnson County, Missouri from 2016–2019. Throughout his career he has continued to serve in fire and disaster services as a volunteer. He is passionate about helping people overcome obstacles, achieve success and improve their health and wellbeing. He enjoys utilizing all his skills, experience and education to lead teams, create innovative health programs and policies and ensure equitable access to the healthcare system.

Tyjuana Atkinson

Lenoir County, North Carolina

Atkinson is employed by Lenoir County Public Health Department as the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Director. Atkinson was recently honored with an inspiring resolution plaque for 35 years of quality service by the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Atkinson enjoys working with the public, her coworkers, WIC participants and her local community, and finds her work to be very rewarding. She was raised to always treat people like she would like to be treated. She graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics-Dietetics. She also has completed classes at North Carolina Wesleyan University, Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Kylin Beeson

Port Orchard, Washington

Beeson currently works at the Washington State Department of Health as an Equity and Social Justice Strategist. Her main work revolves around partnering with community-based organizations around the state to address COVID-19 health disparities and improve access to COVID-19 information and resources. Prior to this position, Beeson worked in a variety of public health settings including research, a federally qualified health care center, community-based organizations, and internationally as a Peace Corps Volunteer doing health promotion work. She received her B.A. in Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.

Saleena Brownell

Cherokee, North Carolina

Brownell is a Commissioned Officer (LT) in the United States Public Health Service. She serves as a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner at the Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee, North Carolina where she manages diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, COPD, asthma, osteoporosis/osteopenia, tobacco cessation, and more under my Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner license in the state of North Carolina (provider status). She is the hepatitis C program lead at the hospital and has treated over 220 patients since she started as a PGY-1 pharmacy resident in August 2020. In May 2020, Brownell graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy with her PharmD, with specializations in pharmacy leadership, innovation, and quality outcomes.

Michaela Byler

Mount Gilead, Ohio

Byler earned her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Ohio Northern University in 2017. From 2017–2021, Byler lived in Youngstown, Ohio and worked in the field of health education and substance abuse prevention. She transitioned in 2021 to working for the Morrow County Health District where she is currently employed as an environmental health specialist.

Johnathan Corbin

Garrett County, Maryland

Corbin currently serves as the Garrett County, Maryland Health Department Informatics Administrator. In this role, Corbin is responsible for leveraging data-driven insights and innovative technology solutions to address public health challenges and improve overall community well-being. He received his BS in Business Administration, Marketing from Frostburg State University. As a part of the RHI Program cohort, he is looking forward to enhancing his abilities to drive meaningful change in rural Appalachia.

Erick Cortes Rangel

Central Valley, California

As a first-generation Mexican-American immigrant, Rangel grew up in the agricultural heartland of California — The Central Valley. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology and minor in Global Health from the University of California, Los Angeles where he developed an interest in learning about health through an anthropological perspective. In 2019, he returned to the Central Valley to work directly in the rural communities where he grew up. He currently serves as a Project Director with the California Health Collaborative, leading various projects to advance health equity and reduce health disparities among the valley’s most underserved communities. Erick works alongside youth and community residents to co-create change around tobacco prevention policy.. Through this work, he has also become interested in learning more about the built environment and how public health can influence planning and community design to improve health outcomes for rural populations.

Laura Dean

Walla Walla, Washington

Dean is a registered dietitian in family medicine primary care at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (YVFWC). With YVFWC, Dean has worked in rural and urban clinics in Washington and Oregon to support underinsured people, including migrant farm workers, immigrant and refugee individuals, and families with nutrition-related health conditions or eating concerns. She is a Certified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist and an Integrative & Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner. Dean completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition/Dietetics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and her dietetic internship with the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Filmmaking from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Amanda Flores

Chula Vista, California

Amanda Flores | San Diego, California
Flores, BS, proudly identifies as an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Nation. She currently holds the position of Senior Program Associate at Advocates for Human Potential, concurrently serving as a dedicated Grantee Coach for the Behavioral Health Workforce Development/Mentored Internship Program based in California. Her career has spanned program management for community-based programs, career advising, and mental health case management. Throughout this journey, Flores found immense fulfillment in fostering the growth and well-being of individuals and communities and she looks forward to continuing this impactful journey in years to come.

Melissa Geach

Wisconsin

Geach works as the Health Officer/Director at the Iron County Health Department in rural northern Wisconsin. Prior to her current position, she worked five years as a Public Health Nurse in the same health department. Geach has also worked as a Nurse Consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Geach earned her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and later returned to college to earn her degree as a Registered Nurse at the College of St. Scholastica.

Leah Gibbs

Kapa'au, Hawaiʻi

Gibbs is an Emergency Nurse at Queens North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital in Kamuela, Hawaiʻi. Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, she is a passionate advocate for quality health care for rural neighbor island communities in Hawaiʻi and food sovereignty in Hawaiʻi. Other professional interests include global health equity and spatial data science for public health. She has served in a number of acute care and public health nursing roles across the US and in LMIC global health contexts. Gibbs earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Seattle University.

Kelsey Giroux-Maule

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Giroux-Maule is the Project Director for Strong Families Strong Wyoming, where she utilizes her expertise in federal grant writing and project management. Joining the organization in 2017, she was promoted to her current role in 2021, reflecting her dedication to the mission. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Since 2018, she has also served as Project Director for Wyoming Families First, a non-profit sister organization, furthering her commitment to strengthening families and fostering positive community change.

Rexanne Greenstreet

California

Greenstreet currently works at the American Lung Association as the Health Promotions Director. Greenstreet manages tobacco prevention grants across nine counties in Northern and Southern California. Outside of the public health field, she has previous experience in nonprofit management and social services. Greenstreet received her Bachelor’s of Science in Community Health from Western Washington University with a minor in psychology.

Alexis Gresham

Georgia

Gresham graduated with her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Georgia Southern University. Gresham completed research in many topics including biomechanics, flea epidemiology, and neuroscience in Drosophila melanogaster. She began volunteering at My Friend’s House which is a free day program for people who are experiencing Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia-related disorders, providing free workshops for families and caregivers to inform their understanding of dementia and managing stress as a caregiver.

Hannah Guenther

West Point, Nebraska

Guenther is a Rural Health Educator with Nebraska Extension. Guenther’s primary Extension work revolves around serving rural families with tailored programming efforts to reduce chronic disease risk, address barriers facing rural health, and improve health outcomes across the state of Nebraska. Key programs that she teaches and monitors include: Food in the Field and Sleepless in Nebraska. She is currently serving as a Community Advisory Board Member for the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, is a member of the Human Sciences Promotion Committee, and is President-Elect for the Nebraska chapter of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. Guenther received her bachelor’s degree in Dietetics with a minor in Communication Studies from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, her Master’s degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska – Kearney, and completed CCE Public Health Essentials from Cornell University.

Hannah Hassler

Mankato, Minnesota

Hassler currently serves as the Director of Advocacy for Committee Against Domestic Abuse (CADA), a nonprofit victim advocacy and emergency shelter organization based in Mankato, MN. She also continues to put her teaching license to work as an occasional adjunct electives instructor for an online high school. She received her BS in Criminal Justice from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul and her MA in Psychology from Saybrook University. Having been born and raised in a rural environment, and working in one now, Hannah is especially interested in exploring gender-based violence within the rural context.

Kimberley Haverly

Carrollton, Kentucky

Haverly works at Carroll County Memorial Hospital in Carrollton, Kentucky, as the Chief Executive Officer. She is certified by the National Rural Health Association as a Rural Hospital CEO (RHCEOC) and a current 2024–2025 NRHA fellow. Haverly is excited to expand her knowledge and use this opportunity to focus on the local rural population. Haverly holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Approximately 34% of the patients Carroll County Memorial Hospital serves are Medicaid eligible with another 33% on Medicare. Haverly is interested in raising awareness and implementing initiatives for better healthcare access and mental health support, especially those on the Autism Spectrum.

Leeza Henderson-Stone

Fredericksburg, Texas

Henderson-Stone is a dynamic content and event strategist with a passion for transforming the healthcare industry. With a background in Communication Design, Henderson-Stone is on a mission to make a positive impact in rural healthcare. She currently serves as the Sr. Director of Content and Educational Events at Signify Health and CVS Accountable Care. Her expertise is in event management, creative direction, and leadership development. She is thrilled to embark on new opportunities to combine her academic pursuits with her professional expertise to contribute to meaningful change in healthcare.

Kilani Klette

Kalispell, Montana

Klette is the Deputy Health Officer at the Flathead City-County Health Department. In her current role, Kilani leads department operations in developing, implementing, and evaluating service lines while driving division expansion efforts to strengthen the local public health system. Kilani provides leadership in project management areas including performance management, quality improvement, and strategic planning. Her background is based in nutrition and chronic disease intervention as a licensed registered dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. Klette earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Food and Nutrition from Montana State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas Permian Basin. She was drawn to the field of public health to focus on health inequities by addressing systems-level barriers that attribute to poor health outcomes. She has broad interests in systems-level development, infrastructure building, and community improvement with experience in community health and behavioral health system capacity building.

Julian Levine

Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Levine works for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in the Center for Rural and Community Health (CRCH) as Project Manager for Community Engagement where he works with rural communities to study and address local health challenges and develop grassroots projects into funded community research initiatives. As part of this role, Levine also served as Executive Director of the partnered nonprofit organization, the Greenbrier County Health Alliance. Prior to coming home to Greenbrier County, West Virginia, Levine worked for Virginia’s oldest free and charitable clinic, Health Brigade, leading mental health and primary care integration projects. Levine received his Master of Social Work with a clinical concentration from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work in 2018, and a Bachelor of Science with honors in Political Science from Shepherd University in 2009.

Amelia Lipscomb

Santa Clara County, California

Amelia Lipscomb is a Program Manager within the County of Santa Clara Health System. Within the County of Santa Clara, she works on innovation and cross-system integration projects which promote public access to healthcare. Amelia recently spearheaded a special population jail diversion project for individuals with Executive Function Disorders to develop relationships with health care providers and teams across the County to address adverse social determinants of health which impact justice-involved individuals with executive dysfunction at higher rates than the average population. Prior to pursuing public health, Amelia got her start with clinical research after finding an undergraduate research position in a neuroimmunobiology lab at the University of California, Riverside where she received a BA in English.

Angela Mackie

Sacramento, CA

Mackie is a registered Nurse at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Mackie is a Nurse Navigator for lung cancer patients, working to coordinate and improve patient care. She also works with the lung cancer screening program, which aims to increase early detection of lung cancer. Mackie graduated from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Western Carolina University in Asheville, North Carolina. Prior to nursing, Mackie worked as an organic farmer and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Sterling College in Vermont.

Jenny McCoy

Butler County, Ohio

McCoy is the Director of Emergency Preparedness at the Butler County General Health District in Butler County, Ohio. She manages the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) grant programs for the Health District. McCoy is actively engaged in community coalitions locally and throughout the Southwest Ohio Public Health Region and is a new member of the State of Ohio Butler County Incident Management Team. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2014 with a BA in Public Health.

Michael McGill

Virginia

McGill is the Outreach Specialist at the National Rural Health Resource Center, the country’s leading rural health technical assistance provider. He previously oversaw workforce development initiatives and communications at the Kentucky Office of Rural Health. He earned Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Speech Communication from Susquehanna University, and a Master’s degree in Communication Studies from Bowling Green State University.

Kalisha McClendon

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

McLendon is a general dentist at Cross Trails Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Southeast Missouri, where she provides comprehensive oral health care. She earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and completed a residency in Special Care Dentistry at the University of Michigan Hospital. Dr. McLendon also holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Dedicated to advancing community health and addressing systemic challenges in rural areas, Dr. McLendon is actively engaged in advocacy and continuing education initiatives. She serves on the Continuing Education Committee and the Oral Health Advocacy Collaborative of the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA). She is also a member of the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health’s Policy Committee. McLendon’s commitment to the future of healthcare is further exemplified by her role as a mentor in the Health Sciences Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. In this capacity, she guides first- and second-year undergraduate students in exploring careers, focusing on those pursuing dentistry.

Matthew Metz

Glen Dale, West Virginia

Metz is practicing as a general surgeon in Glen Dale, West Virginia. He moved back to his hometown after practicing for 16 years in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science Degree and attended West Virginia University for his medical degree. His surgical training was completed at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

Hannah Miller

Maine

Miller is a multilingual health advocate, artist, and activist working to build an embodied community in Maine, motivated to work in public health to strengthen her community and achieve equitable and just care for health and wellbeing. She works as the Director of Outreach with the Maine Mobile Health Program where she started in 2017 as a Program Manager and Community Health Worker. She has experience in supervision of enabling services teams, particularly Community Health Workers, and a background in the planning, development, and implementation of mobile health programs. She graduated from Bates College in 2014 with a double major in Spanish and Women and Gender Studies. From 2014 to 2017 she researched and developed an educational text focused on community, place, gender, and life on the border between the United States and Nogales, Mexico. Her areas of interest include migrant and seasonal farmworkers, migrant and community health centers, substance use, immigration, Hispanic language and culture, interpretation and language access, gender expression, motherhood, and sites of memory.

Jenny Niblock

Colby, Kansas

Niblock has 35 years of working experience in rural health. She currently serves as the chief clinical officer at Citizens Health in Colby, Kansas, and previously served as a nurse practitioner for over 25 years in practice at a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Rural Health Clinic (RHCs) and worked as a certified nursing assistant and registered nurse before becoming an advanced practice registered nurse. She also served Citizens Health and Northwest Kansas as the leader in COVID, pandemic, and disaster preparedness. COVID and working closely with others in public health sparked her interest in rural public health. She is passionate about rural health equity and access to healthcare.

Roblen Nieblas

King’s County, CA

Nieblas is currently working as a general dentist and dental director at Aria Community Health Center, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Kings, Fresno and Tulare Counties. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Nieblas serves as a preceptor for UCLA School of Dentistry’s Community Based Clinical Education Program. These students participate in rotations at her clinic and provide high quality dental care to underserved populations in the Central Valley while also improving their own clinical skills. Outside of Aria, Nieblas is the chair of the King’s County Oral Health Coalition, which focuses on initiatives aimed at improving access to dental care and overall oral health in King’s County. Nieblas obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Neurobiology at UC Irvine in 2013, and earned my Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at UCLA in 2019.

Celene Olson

Humboldt County, California

Olson lives in Humboldt County where she works as a Supervising PHN. Previously, Olson worked with a FQHC, a clinical instructor for the local ADN nursing program, and at the local hospital as a staff nurse on the progressive care unit and nurse manager of a telemetry, pediatric, and observation unit. Before arriving in Humboldt, Olson lived in Los Angeles working for a School District supporting 20 school-based health offices as an administrative assistant. Olson earned her Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology at Humboldt State University, her ADN at the College of the Redwoods, and BSN at Chapman University.

Ken Park

Ontario, California

Park currently serves as Vice President of Rural Health for Prime Healthcare, a privately held healthcare company that operates 45 hospitals in 14 states across the US. In this role, he is responsible for leading the organization’s strategy to improve the health of rural communities. Previously, he was the director of rural health strategy & business development for Kettering Health. He holds a BA from Pacific Union College and an MBA from University of Redlands. Witnessing firsthand the struggles of his own parents navigating care in a rural setting has instilled a deep commitment to making a difference, one life at a time.

Nicky Perisho

Whitefish, Montana

Perisho, a registered nurse who has worked in telehealth since 2010, is considered a pioneer in the telehealth field and has led efforts for telehealth growth, utilization, and sustainability in the northwest region. She is currently the principal investigator and program director for the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center, a Health Resources and Services Administration federally funded grant program to provide technical assistance related to the growth of telehealth in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Perisho resides in Whitefish, Montana where she enjoys the outdoors with her husband, son, and daughter. Perisho holds a BA in Communication from the University of Wisconsin and a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Colorado.

Kim Pinto

Washington County, Oregon

Pinto is currently a Prevention Program Specialist at Washington County, Oregon where she works with internal and external partners to reduce substance use disorders. Before joining Washington County, Pinto was a Lab Technician performing clinical testing for hormone imbalances and early detection of cancer. Pinto aspired to re-enter the public health field after her first two public health roles prior to the lab and after graduating from CSU Sacramento with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Science. Prior to her lab position, Pinto served in the Peace Corps as a Health Volunteer in Malawi and before that, a Research Associate for a small evaluation and consulting firm in Sacramento where she worked with all local schools on tobacco prevention and education.

Lisa Ann Rantz

Hilo, Hawaii

Rantz is the Executive Director of the Hilo Benioff Medical Center Foundation (HBMCF), where she has led initiatives since 2014 to address healthcare needs on Hawaii Island. Her work includes building infrastructure to recruit and retain healthcare providers and collaborating with legislators to support healthcare policy. As the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Director for Hawaii Island, she oversees health career recruitment from high school through graduate medical education. In addition to serving as President of the Hawaii State Rural Health Association, she Serves as the State Association Council Chair for the National Rural Health Association where she provides technical support and assistance to rural health associations across the nation. Rantz is a member of the Rural Health Policy Congress and a strong advocate for access to high quality healthcare regardless of where you live. Her dedication to advancing rural healthcare is further highlighted by her ongoing pursuit of a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the University of California, Berkeley. Rantz’s community service includes roles on the Hawaii Medical Education Council, Community First’s Recruitment & Retention Committee, and various local organizations. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Athena Leadership Award and the National Rural Health Association’s Volunteer of the Year. Rantz holds a bachelor’s degree from Chapman University.

Monica Romero

Salinas, California

Romero currently works with The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) in Salinas, California. Romero has been with the CHAMACOS study since 2014 as a Youth Examiner and currently as a Research Assistant. Romero earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is excited to be part of the inaugural Rural Health Innovation cohort.

Michelle Saenz

Bishop, California

Saenz is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and oversees a behavioral health department that primarily serves seven Tribal communities across two counties in rural eastern California. In this position, she was instrumental in the expansion of behavioral health services by increasing accessibility to mental health providers, expanding psychiatry care, and building a Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program to serve community members struggling with substance use disorders. She has eleven years of experience in Tribal health and previously worked in a rural county mental health system, a psychiatric hospital, and a residential treatment program for adolescents. Saenz is the current chairwoman of the Behavioral Health Advisory Board for Inyo County. She received a B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. In her free time, she enjoys recreating in the beautiful Eastern Sierras.

Shannon Sawin

Outer Banks, North Carolina

Sawin currently serves as a physician at a rural Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in North Carolina. Sawin grew up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for medical school. She completed her residency at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Hospitals in Family Medicine. Sawin returned to the Outer Banks and worked at a family practice and urgent care while also volunteering at a local free clinic. After that time, she began locum tenens work with several organizations, including as a family physician with Indian Health Services – the Jicarilla Apache tribe in New Mexico, the Miwok Tribe in Shingle Springs, California and the Wampanoag Tribe in Mashpee, Massachusetts, as well as an FQHC in Raleigh. Sawin went on to work as a student health physician at a HBCU. Sawin has always wanted to pursue an MPH and the Rural Health Innovation program has made that possible.

Sylvia Saxena

West Lafayette, Indiana

Saxena is a Senior Health Equity Analyst at Purdue University. Saxena graduated from Purdue University with her Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner, FNP program in 2018. Saxena worked in Prenatal and Women’s Health at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) for a few years, and then transitioned to community-based work focused on addressing health equity. Saxena’s expertise includes working with diverse, underrepresented, and rural populations, working with FQHC’s, promoting health screenings and chronic disease education, infant and maternal health, health equity trainings, and building collaborations and partnerships.

Yinchen Song

Lebanon, New Hampshire

Song works as a Clinical Neurophysiologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and holds the position of Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Song’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Southeast University in Nanjing, China, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Florida International University. Currently, Song is the Co-Chair of the Interprofessional Education Committee at the American Epilepsy Society. Song is passionate about teaching and training students, technologists, residents, and fellows. He is also eager to expand his expertise in epidemiology and spatial data analysis while deepening his knowledge in health policy and management. Ultimately, Song aims to leverage his skills to address health disparities and workforce challenges in rural America.

Valeria Stacey

Clark County, Montana

In 2016, Stacey earned her BS in Biology from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, and traveled west to Wyoming for an internship with the Bureau of Land Management. After completing the seasonal internship in 2017, Stacey moved to Lewis and Clark County, Montana, and has been working within the local public health department ever since. As an Environmental Health Specialist, I wear a lot of hats, including permitting septic systems, monitoring air quality, providing education and outreach, and serving on statewide coalitions that aim to influence health policy. Stacey is especially immersed in her work when performing data analyses and creating GIS maps, dashboards, and other tools that more effectively communicate with the public.

Andy Tyler

Grand Junction, Colorado

Tyler currently lives and works in Grand Junction, Colorado, the largest city between Denver and Salt Lake City, in the high desert near the Utah border. He works at Family Health West, a critical access hospital, as their Infection Preventionist. He previously worked as the project director for a Health Resources & Services Administration Physician Assistant Training in Primary Care grant. He worked in local public health as a regional epidemiologist for five years practicing applied epidemiology. This involved disease and outbreak investigation, public and medical provider education, and data collection and analysis. He received a BS in Public Health from Tulane University.

Kara Waples

Sacramento, California

Waples is a Senior Program Consultant at the California Department of Public Health – California Tobacco Prevention Program. In her current position, Waples develops and coordinates efforts aimed at reducing tobacco-related disparities, particularly among rural communities, through the implementation of population-based public health intervention strategies. She provides training and technical assistance aimed at countering the tobacco industry, decreasing exposure to second and thirdhand smoke, reducing the availability of tobacco products, and promoting tobacco cessation. Waples graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 2014, followed by a community farm apprenticeship in sustainable agriculture.

Sara Watrous

Cortland County, New York

Watrous currently works as the Project Director at the Rural Health Institute of New York overseeing the implementation of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) initiative for Cortland County. Watrous previously worked at Tompkins Cortland Community College as the Alcohol & Drug Prevention Coordinator. She received her BA in International Politics from the American University of Paris and her MA in Political Science from the University of Quebec at Montreal.

Aaron Winden

Elkhorn, Wisconsin

Winden is a public health specialist at Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where he oversees the community health improvement plan. Winden spent the previous ten years in clinical social work and HIPAA compliance. Winden has a Master’s degree in social work from Aurora University (IL), and has been in the mental health field since 2004.

Virginia Wrobel

Blacksburg, Virgina

Wrobel is a Virginia Tech graduate in Public Health. Her experiences working in rural health have predominantly been community health-based efforts to address substance use disorder (SUD) in rural Appalachia. This began when she joined the Appalachian Community Research team at Virginia Tech, where she worked with a team of professionals to help create more robust SUD recovery projects. Today, Virginia is a project coordinator for the Virginia Rural Health Association, a non-profit that serves residents of rural Southwest Virginia. She continues to specialize in SUD and works to advocate for recovery resources for her community, including harm reduction.